This invention relates generally to a billet manipulator or billet handling apparatus and, more particularly, to a billet weighing apparatus for a billet manipulator.
In the grinding of billets such as elongated steel billets which are quite large as, for example, up to thirty feet long and sixteen inches square, the billets are placed on a car and moved past a grinding wheel where the scale formed on the surface of the billet from its manufacture is removed. The car is slowly moved longitudinally past a grinding station where an operator causes a grinding wheel to move transversely back and forth over the surface of the billet as the billet car conveys the billet under the grinding wheel. After each pass of the billet through a grinding operation, the billet is rotated to present a fresh surface for grinding. In the manufacture of billets, there is a need to be able to weigh each billet either before or after grinding or both. Weighing of the billet in this manner can provide important process control information regarding the yield of the process in terms of the tonnage of billets manufactured both before grinding and after grinding.
An objective of the present invention has been to provide a weighing apparatus for a billet manipulator and particularly one which provides rapid and accurate weighing of the billet on the billet car during the grinding phase of the billet manufacture.
It has been another objective of this invention to provide a billet weighing apparatus which is adapted to be mounted in conjunction with the billet manipulator to provide accurate weighing of billets of various sizes and cross-sections independent of the positioning of the billet on the weighing apparatus.
It has been a further objective of this invention to provide a billet weighing apparatus wherein the weighing of the billet is independent of such variables as the accumulation of scale on the weighing apparatus which commonly occurs in a production operation.
It has been another objective of this invention to provide a billet weighing apparatus which admits of the use of a variety of instrumentation thereby providing flexibility in the type of instrumentation which may be used as well as the integration of that instrumentation to provide desired production information.